Shoe last



Aug. 30. 1955 H. e. CLAUSING SHOE LAST Filed Sept. 27, 1954 0 mu a. m M 6 m7 w United, States Patent anon LAST Henry G. Clausing, Portsmouth, Ghio, assignor to Vulcan Corporation, Portsmouth, Ohio, a corporation of Ghio Application September 27, 1954, Serial No. 458,520

3 Claims. (Cl. 12-136) This invention relates to collapsible shoe lasts and has for its principal object the provision of an improved latch for the last part hinge that positively arrests the last heel part from collapse against the articulating link for the last parts.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel articulating last part link that has formed therein an elongated, closed slot which cooperates with a stop pin fixed in the heel part for limiting collapsing movement of the heel part with respect to said link, to thus preclude contact between the link and part especially when strong forces are exerted on the collapsed parts during the shoe lasting operation.

Other specific objects of the invention will be apparent to one skilled in the art upon reading the following specification, accomplished by that certain construction and arrangement of parts which I shall now describe and which is illustrated in the drawings forming a part hereof, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through the longitudinal center of a collapsible shoe last embodying the features of my hinge, parts thereof being shown in side elevation.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing the shoe last parts in collapsed positions.

Fig. 3 is a section taken on line 33 of Fig. 1.

In the drawings the numeral 5 generally indicates a collapsible last on which the shoe manufacturing process is carried out, said last being generally referred to in the trade and herein as a slip last. The slip last depicted in the drawings has a forepart 6 and a heel part 7 secured together in articulated relationship by a hinge 8 which includes mechanism for locking the last parts in the expanded operative position shown in Fig. l. The last parts are provided with mating contact surfaces which are shown in the drawing as two offset surfaces 9 and 10 formed on the forepart 6 providing a shoulder 11 between them while the heel part 7 has two ofiset faces 12 and 13 which form a shoulder 14 between them; said shoulders cooperating to establish the extended positions of the last parts shown in Fig. l.

The forepart 6 and heel part 7 are relatively swing able on the hinge 8 from the expanded positions shown in Figv 1 to the collapsed positions shown in Fig. 2, and return, by a last link 15 located in registering routs l6 and 17 formed in the forepart 6 and heel part 7, respectively. One end of the link is secured to the forepart by a transverse pivot pin 18 anchored in said part, while the opposed end of the link is secured to the heel part by a transverse pivot pin 19 anchored in the said heel part.

A heightwise catch plate 20 is fixed in the heel part rout 17 by a lateral pin 21 anchored in the heel part and by the pivot pin 19, said plate having a latch extension 22 projecting beyond the body of the last. A latch lever 23 is positioned in the forepart rout 16 for ivotal movement in the plane of the catch plate, said lever being mounted at its lower end on the pivot pin 18 Whilst its upper end 24 is booked and normally engages over the catch plate extension 22 to maintain the last parts in extended, operative positions. The lever is biased edgewise into engagement with the catch plate 2,715,248 Fatented Aug. 30, 1955 by an expansile spring 25 that bears against the lever and has its opposed end located in a bore 26 formed in the forepart rout 16.

The link 15 has an extended and enlarged portion 27 located generally above its attachment to the pivot pin 19 and beside and in contact with a major part of the catch plate 20. This enlarged link portion 27 has a closed, arcuate slot 28 formed therethrough on the radius of the pin 19 and wide enough to freely receive the central part of the catch plate pin 21 fixed in the heel part. As best shown in Fig. 2 the slot is long enough to permit the last parts to freely swing on the link to their fully collapsed positions where the slot end 29 comes in contact with the fixed pin 21 thus precluding further collapsing movement of the heel part with respect to the link 15. Thus the slot in the link and the fixed pin form a stop means for limiting collapsing movement of the heel part with respect to the link so that the central edge portion of the link will not come into damaging contact with the corner 30 formed on the heel part by the intersection of the bottom of the heel part rout 17 and the offset mating face 13 for the said heel part.

What is claimed is:

l. A collapsible shoe last comprising a forepart and a heel part each having mating surfaces forming cooperative shoulders for maintaining the said last parts in operative, expanded positions, a heightwise catch plate, at least a transverse pin for fixing the plate in the heel part, a latch lever pivotally mounted in the forepart and engageable with the catch plate for releasably locking the parts in operative positions, an articulating link connecting the heel part with the forepart and having an elongated slot therethrough for receiving the pin, said slot being of an extent to permit collapse of the last parts and having an end engageable against the pin to preclude collapse of the link against the body of the heel part.

2. A collapsible shoe last comprising a forepart and a heel part each having mating surfaces forming cooperative shoulders for maintaining the said last parts in operative, expanded positions, a link between the forepart and the heel part, a pivot pin connecting an end of the link to the heel part, a heightwise catch plate secured in the heel part by the pivot pin, a transverse pin anchored in the heel part and extending through the plate to fixedly mount the latter in the heel part, an enlarged portion formed on the link above the pivot pin, said enlarged portion having an arcuate slot formed therethrough for receiving the transverse pin, said slot being of an extent to permit the last parts to move to collapsed position and having an end engageable against the transverse pin to preclude collapse of the link against the body of the heel part.

3. A collapsible shoe last comprising a forepart and a heel part each having mating surfaces forming cooperative shoulders for maintaining the said last parts in operative, expanded positions, a link between the forepart and the heel part, a pivot pin connecting an end of the link to the heel part, a heightwise catch plate secured in the heel part by the pivot pin, a transverse pin anchored in the heel part and extending through the plate to fixedly mount the latter in the heel part, an enlarged portion formed on the link above the pivot pin and to one side of the catch plate, said enlarged portion having a closed arcuate slot formed therethrough for receiving the transverse pin, said slot being of an extent to permit the last parts to move to collapsed positions and having an end engageable against the transverse pin to preclude collapse of the link against the body of the heel part.

No references cited. 

